The Lesson
by Julia Weasley
Summary: Ron teaches Hermione how to fly in more ways than one. written for the RHR ficathon on Livejournal for Phillyjersey71


The Lesson  
  
By Julia Weasley  
  
Rated: PG  
  
Summary: Ron shows Hermione how to fly in more ways than one.  
  
A/N: This was written for Phillyjersey71 for the R/Hr ficathon on Livejournal.  
  
She requested: Something sappy but not overly so. Say during a holiday where the opportunity to be together could arise easily or possibly a little angsty where their love really shines through the obstacles.  
  
The restrictions: none really, there could be a sad ending or character death if it fits with the story.  
  
___________  
  
"Ron, how many times have I told you?" asked Hermione in an aggravated tone. "When are you going to realize I can't fly and don't want to." She moved a little further back against him, trying to steady herself.  
  
Ron chuckled at her obvious discomfort. During the second day of Christmas break, he and Harry had gotten into a little teasing match with Hermione about her lack of skills when it came to flying. She'd gotten so angry at their annoying taunting and had finally given in. He'd convinced Harry to let him borrow his Firebolt so he could show Hermione how to fly properly, but his attempts were so far unproductive. She wasn't exactly excelling in flying and he was having a hard time thinking with her this close.  
  
"You're just complaining because you're sore you don't know how." Ron tried to suppress a grin unsuccessfully. "Admit it, Hermione. You don't like to be bad at something, especially something that comes so easy to Harry and me."  
  
"Oh shut up!" snapped Hermione over her shoulder as she raked an offending curl away from her brown eyes. "I only agreed to this because you two promised you'd shut up about this if I did!"  
  
Ron and Hermione were both on the Firebolt, both of their feet firmly on the ground. Ron moved a little closer to Hermione's back trying to reach his arms a bit further in front of her, though her hair was making it a little hard to accomplish.  
  
"I already showed you the proper way to grip the broom and you still aren't doing it right." Ron brushed her hair out of his face but not before noticing the sweet smell of whatever shampoo she used, once again distracting him from the task at hand.  
  
Ron reached his hand over to where hers were positioned and placed them over hers. He felt his stomach give a little jolt at the contact that somehow felt strangely intimate as he placed them where they were supposed to go. His ears started to burn a little. He knew they were already red.  
  
"There," Ron said his voice a little shaky. "You have to get the right grip on the broom or you'll start to slide off when the broom is in the air."  
  
Hermione was having a difficult time listening to anything Ron was trying to tell her. She could hardly breathe with the closeness of Ron's body. If she'd known this was how he would teach her to fly, she'd have given in much earlier.  
  
"But I won't have to worry about that. You'll be behind me to catch me, right." She asked not really caring. She was being distracted by his voice.  
  
Ron laughed in spite of himself. "Hermione, I'm not going to be in the air with you. It's too risky with two people." He loved teasing her.  
  
Hermione stiffened. "Don't even joke about something like that, Ron!" she said in a shrill voice.  
  
"But I'm not!" Ron protested in his best believable voice.  
  
"Well, then I'm going back inside. That's just mad!" Hermione made a move to get off the broom.  
  
Ron quickly grabbed her to prevent her from leaving, but she lost her balance. He tried to break her fall, but his precarious position made him fall back and they both tumbled to the ground with Hermione falling on Ron. He let out a little "Oaf!" as she landed roughly on top of him.  
  
Neither one of them moved for a few seconds.  
  
Hermione's heart was in her throat. She didn't feel like she could move, didn't even know if she wanted to. He was too warm and she was far too comfortable in his arms. She didn't want to move, even if it was an accident.  
  
Ron wasn't in an easier position. He could feel everything that made a woman different from a man. He couldn't loosen his grip on her waist without a little mental shove to himself. Her breath was warm on his neck.  
  
He cleared his throat trying to think of something to say.  
  
Somewhere around his shoulder he heard her mutter, "You were kidding weren't you?"  
  
She removed her face from his neck and looked at him.  
  
Ron's breath caught in his throat when she looked down at him. She was so close. "Of course," was all he could manage to say. Her lips were inches away from his. He could hardly believe she was so close. He swore he saw a flash of something more in her eyes but then it was gone as fast as it came.  
  
She pulled up and the spell was broken. He reluctantly let her go.  
  
Hermione moved off Ron before she forgot herself. She glanced at him under her eyelashes and was heartened to see he looked awkward as well. At least she wasn't the only one affected.  
  
He glanced at her and caught her eye. He gave a small smile and was relieved when she smiled back.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that," he murmured.  
  
She smiled at how cute he was when he was shy.  
  
"So how are we supposed to fly then with you in front of me" Hermione asked.  
  
"Naw. It wouldn't do you much good if I didn't let you guide it."  
  
She looked at the half grin he was giving her. "But what if I can't fly it properly"  
  
"That's what we're here for isn't it? That's why you've got to try it first. It's not like you to automatically think you'll fail at something," Ron protested. "At least give it a try."  
  
Ron heard her murmur something.  
  
"What was that?" he leaned a little bit closer to her trying to hear what she was whispering.  
  
"I said, I'm scared of heights." Her hair was partially covering her face from Ron's view.  
  
"Well I'm scared of spiders," he told her like she didn't know.  
  
Hermione suppressed a giggle. "So I've heard."  
  
Ron turned serious and his tone quieted. "So that's why you never wanted to fly. I always thought that you just didn't have time for it or thought it a complete waste of your time."  
  
She looked off for a second and then, "Well yes, there was that too. It was part not having time to waste, but mostly it was my fear."  
  
"You won't fall with me. I won't let you."  
  
Ron's quietly spoken promise brought her attention back to him. "Thank you," was her quiet reply. He was looking at her so seriously. Her stomach fluttered and her heart was in her throat for the second time in five minutes, making it difficult to look Ron in the eye. She looked away and cleared her throat, desperately trying to appear indifferent. She bent down to pick up Harry's Firebolt to give herself something to do.  
  
Ron held back a sigh and raked a hand through his thick hair. He was so tired of their bizarre relationship. She either pretended something didn't happen or she snapped at him. Yet he always found himself coming back for more. Not that she was completely to blame for all of this. It was just easier to blame her for his lack of nerve. He was so frustrated.  
  
Hermione was tired of this. Why couldn't he make a move? How many hints did she have to drop? Why couldn't he understand that she didn't have the courage to lay herself on the line? She cursed herself for what seemed like the thousandth time that she couldn't say anything, that she couldn't bring up the courage to do something about it.  
  
"Maybe we should try again" she suggested.  
  
Ron's grin was back in place.  
  
After they were back in the same position, Ron began giving instructions again. He boldly scooted closer to her until she was snuggly trapped between his legs and his arms were around her waist. He pushed her hair aside with awkwardly unsure fingers and gently placed his head next to hers. "You're hair...makes it a little hard to see what I'm doing." was his lame excuse. He didn't care; whatever it took to get closer to her.  
  
Apparently, the excuse was sufficient for Hermione because she offered no resistance. Little did Ron know she wasn't about to stop him.  
  
"Now remember to grip the broom tightly, but not too tight to where your hands become numb and you can't feel what you're doing. That would throw your direction completely off."  
  
His voice was in her ear, his breath brushing softly against her cheek. She found it so hard to concentrate because all she could think of was what his mouth would feel like on hers. She blushed, and all she could do was nod at whatever he said.  
  
His heart was thumping so loudly in his ears that it was hard to ignore it. Awkwardly and hesitantly, he spoke again, trying to keep his voice more level this time, "Do you think you want to try it now?" He felt her shaky intake of breath that alerted him of just how nervous she really was.  
  
Hermione tried to nod her consent, but she wasn't quite sure she had moved her head enough for him to pick it up. Before she had any more time to question it, she heard Ron's voice again.  
  
"Ok, we're going to try it then. We're only going to lift up a little from the ground at first and see how that goes before we try anything else, alright?"  
  
His voice was so convincing and she felt herself relaxing despite herself. When had his voice gotten so deep? It was so smooth and rich as it flowed over her.  
  
She flinched and grabbed the broom more tightly when she felt them lifting off the ground. She was suddenly very aware of Ron's arm around her waist. When had he placed it there?  
  
"That's it. Just keep it steady. It's not so bad is it?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yes, but we're not that high off the ground yet," Hermione protested, still more than nervous about going any higher. They were barely five feet off the ground, but she was already feeling a little more than anxious.  
  
Ron laughed. "You're doing fine. So stop worrying so much. I already told you I won't let anything happen to you. If I was you, I'd worry more about the speed than the height," he couldn't help teasing her.  
  
"Ron!" she nearly screeched.  
  
"You ready to go a little higher and pick up some speed?" he asked.  
  
"Not really." She clenched her eyes tightly when they rose higher. Suddenly, they picked up speed and she felt queasy. "Oh! I really don't like this. I really don't!"  
  
"Hermione, your eyes better be open or we're going to be in some real trouble," Ron said a little louder because of the difficulty of hearing while going so fast.  
  
Opening her eyes, she squinted a little at the sudden rush of air.  
  
"Look, just relax." With his free hand, he reached down to her hands that were clutching the broom with all her might. He gently loosened her grip. "Don't think about the height. Just concentrate on flying. It's not nearly as bad as you think it is." He placed his arm around her waist where his other one already rested. "Loosen up and just enjoy it. Don't you feel free this high up?"  
  
A smile started to form on Hermione's face. As long as she didn't look down, she was fine. And it was a good feeling. It was like a little rush.  
  
"As long as we don't go any faster, I'll be fine." She muttered.  
  
"What did you say?" Ron asked in her ear.  
  
She turned her head a little so he could hear her speak, "I said that as long as this is as fast as we go, I'll be fine." She heard him laugh at her remark. He tightened his grip on her waist and she smiled. It was as if he was hugging her.  
  
The wonderful feeling of flying and being this close to Ron made her completely calm down and she was starting to really enjoy herself despite her fears.  
  
Before she knew it, they were descending. For some reason, it was a little scarier to her going down then it was going up, but she scrapped up her courage and refused to close her eyes.  
  
With much more finesse than she expected, they landed softly on the ground. As wobbly as her legs were just at that moment, she turned around laughing and practically jumped on Ron, hugging him with all her might.  
  
Ron was beyond amused. "I take it you liked it?" he asked somewhere in the depths of Hermione's hair.  
  
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe you haven't taken me before!"  
  
"Hey," Ron defended himself, "it's not like you were begging me or something."  
  
She pulled back a little from their embrace and her breath caught in her throat. They were inches from each other and she felt her grin slowly melting away when she saw Ron's eyes dart from her mouth to her eyes and back again.  
  
Ron swallowed hard. He could feel her starting to put up the usual barriers and abruptly, he decided that he had had enough. "Aren't you tired of this already?" he suddenly blurted out before he lost his unexpected nerve.  
  
Hermione's heart slammed in her chest and she felt the need to clutch at Ron's sleeves. "Of course not," she tried to play like she hadn't understood what Ron meant; she didn't know if she was ready to face this yet now that it was so glaringly here, "I've just started this flying business and I'm not about to stop now."  
  
"Hermione," he said softly, "you know perfectly what I mean."  
  
His gentle reply made her meet his eye and in that moment, when she looked into his eyes, she knew without a doubt that he loved her. Tears sprang to her eyes at the thought that he loved her as much as she loved him. She released her grip on Ron's sleeves and covered her face with her hands. All of the emotions she had been holding back for so long came flooding in and it was all she could do was cry.  
  
Ron felt like he was back in third year, because suddenly he was back to patting her on the back and he felt all awkward and very unsure of what to do with himself. He could feel her shoulders shaking from her weeping.  
  
"Hermione?" he asked uncertainly, touching her shoulder. He was afraid of her reaction.  
  
She wiped her tears away with her hands and shook her head.  
  
Ron felt his stomach drop. He had been wrong. She didn't love him after all. He let go of her shoulder, feeling like he was going to be sick.  
  
"Ron," she almost whispered. He could not meet her eye.  
  
"Ron," she said again when he turned away, ", look at me." She took his arm and turned him around to face her again. "Would you please look at me?" she asked again, when he refused to meet her eye. When he looked at her, she saw how uncertain he was and she melted.  
  
"Ron..." she pulled him to her. If he could be brave, then so could she. With resolve, she leaned up and pressed her lips lightly to his.  
  
Ron's eyes widened and he let out a little choked noise. Hermione was kissing him; just standing there kissing him. He could hardly grasp that fact. He wrapped his arms around her when he felt her starting to pull away; he wasn't ready for it to be over.  
  
Hermione relaxed a little when she felt him start to respond to her kiss. Kissing him was everything she thought it would be. One thing came to mind; as cliché as it sounded, kissing him felt a lot like flying.  
  
__________  
  
Harry couldn't suppress the wide grin that suddenly broke out on his face. He'd watched the whole thing from his hiding spot by the stands. He let out a satisfied sigh, "Finally."  
  
__________  
  
A/N: Please Review!! Constructive criticism is more than welcome. :)  
  
A special thanks to my beta and sister, Starr. If you hadn't helped me through this and given me that huge suggestion near the end...this might not have turned out as well as I would have liked. Thanks for putting up with my constant whining. *hugs* 


End file.
